Pop-up Globe tour coming to city

After performing to more than 600,000 people across Australasia, Auckland’s Pop-up Globe is on the road and heading for Dunedin.

Founder and artistic director Dr Miles Gregory and his dedicated team of actors, musicians, dressers, stage managers and technicians is out on the road to share Shakespeare’s masterworks with audiences from New Plymouth to Dunedin.

Bringing its own specially designed touring set, the Pop-up Globe company will stage wild comedy Measure for Measure and the most famous play of them all, Hamlet from June 27 to 29, at the Regent Theatre.

Dr Gregory said the seven-centre tour had come about in response to a huge number of requests from throughout the country.

“Now, for the first time, we’ve created a touring set and shows that bring all the magic of Pop-up Globe performances – the blood, the incredible audience connect, the dances and song, and above all the remarkable art of Shakespeare done well – to existing theatres,” he said.

“With the set, props and over 70 costumes to transport, we are packing it all into a couple of big trucks for the journey.”

After years of re-examining and remaking the plays, the top-notch Pop-up Globe team is confident in its exciting, high-energy productions.

Measure for Measure is directed by Dr Gregory himself, while Hamlet is directed by David Lawrence, and both are performed by the same team of 15 actors.

New Zealand actor Adrian Hooke will play the lead role in Hamlet, and English actor Jonathon Tynan-Moss will play the Duke in Measure for Measure.

Each will take a support role in the other play.

“Our approach is authentic, but also very playful, including extraordinary special effects and an epic sword duel with 176 moves,” Dr Gregory said.

“The audiences are in for an unforgettable experience.”

Given the huge effort involved in touring such a major show, Dr Gregory said it was unlikely to happen again anytime soon.